Shelley Grostefon
Senior Sports Writer
The Fighting Scots volleyball team has had a successful season so far, holding a record of 14-6 overall and a conference record of 2-4. In recent matches, they have fought hard in some close matches.
Anna Emmick ’17 says that the success of the team is due to the effort of the team’s players, who all contribute. “Our success this season is due to our depth as a team […] we all have a crucial role in the team’s success.” She also cited the support provided by members of the team in both practices and matches as being crucial to the success of the team.
Emmick recognizes that in recent matches, the team has lost with close scores, but hopes that the team will be able to win close matches toward the end of the season. “We’ve recently lost a couple of heartbreakers, and we just have to learn from those in that we can’t lose our competitive mindset at the end of those very close games,” she said.
On Oct. 8, the team fell to DePauw University 3-2, who was then undefeated in conference matches. In the first set, Wooster stayed in the lead the entire time and won, 25-19. DePauw won the second and third sets (25-17 and 25-22, respectively), but Wooster rallied to win the fourth set, 28-25. DePauw overcame the Scots’ resilience, however, winning the fifth and final set, 15-9. Ksenia Klue ’18 had 15 kills and 10 digs and Taylor Mathews ’18 had 35 assists and 12 digs.
On Oct. 11, the team faced Indiana Tech and triumphed with a victory of 3-1. Wooster won the first two sets, 25-19 and 25-15, respectively. Indiana Tech won the third set 25-23, but Wooster closed out their win with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set. Emmick had 13 kills, five blocks and three aces. Kyana Harris ’20 had 34 assists and 15 digs.
On Oct. 15, the team lost in a heartbreakingly close match to Hiram College 3-2. Hiram won the first two sets, 25-20 and 26-24. Wooster won the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-22 but fell in the final set, 18-16. Lydia Webster ’17 had a career high of 18 kills at this match, a feat that was last achieved by a Scot in 2014. The Scots’ goals now rest on winning the remaining conference matches as well as succeeding in the conference tournament.
To do this, Emmick said of the team, “We need to continue to improve our mentality when things start to get hard in games. We have to stay focused and guard against making small errors, because in a close match every point matters.”
Emmick is confident in her team’s ability to succeed at the conference tournament in November. “This is the strongest team Wooster volleyball has seen in a while, and I think we have the potential to turn heads and cause a few upsets once the tournament rolls around,” said Emmick
The team competed in a conference match at Denison University on Oct. 19, after press time. The team will play two matches on Oct. 22 at Grove City College, one at 1 p.m. against Grove City, and one against Westminster College at 3 p.m. Their last conference match will be at Kenyon College at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26.